Office of the Historian

Political Turmoil in the United States, June 1973–September 1974

65. Memorandum From Richard H. Solomon of the National Security Council Staff to Secretary of State Kissinger

Washington, December 31, 1973.

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 527, Country Files, Far East. People’s Republic of China, Vol. 8, July 10, 1973–Dec 31, 1973. Secret; Sensitive. Sent for action. Scowcroft sent this memorandum to Kissinger at the Western White House in San Clemente. At the top of the memorandum, Kissinger wrote, “Excellent paper.” A handwritten note on the memorandum reads, “Comments are HAK’s.”

66. Memorandum of Conversation

Washington, January 23, 1974, 6:15–6:45 p.m.

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Kissinger Office Files, Box 96, Country Files, Far East, China Exchanges, November 1, 1973–March 31, 1974. Secret; Sensitive; Nodis. The meeting was held at Kissinger’s office in the Department of State.

67. Memorandum From Richard H. Solomon of the National Security Council Staff to Secretary of State Kissinger

Washington, January 25, 1974.

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 528, Country Files, Far East, People’s Republic of China, Vol. 9, Jan 1, 1974–. Secret; Sensitive. Sent for information. Kissinger initialed this memorandum at the time, and later quoted it in his memoir, Years of Upheaval, p. 680. All brackets are in the original.

68. Notes on a Conversation Between Secretary of State Kissinger and Time Incorporated Editors and Correspondents

Washington, February 5, 1974.

Source: Department of State, RG 59, Lot 89 D 436, Papers of William H. Gleysteen, Box 8132, PRC Related Papers, Jan–Mar 1974. No classification marking. Drafted by George Vest, Special Assistant to the Secretary of State for Press Relations.

69. Memorandum From Richard H. Solomon of the National Security Council Staff to Secretary of State Kissinger

Washington, February 5, 1974.

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Kissinger Office Files, Box 96, Country Files, Far East, China Exchanges, November 1, 1973–March 31, 1974. Confidential. Urgent; Sent for action.

70. Memorandum From W. R. Smyser of the National Security Council Staff to Secretary of State Kissinger

Washington, February 6, 1974.

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 528, Country Files, Far East, People’s Republic of China, Vol. 9, Jan. 1, 1974–. Secret; Sensitive; Eyes Only. Urgent; sent for information.

71. Letter From the Acting Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs (Hummel) to the Acting Chief of the Liaison Office in China (Jenkins)

Washington, February 14, 1974.

Source: Department of State, Papers of William H. Gleysteen: Lot 89 D 436, Box 8132, PRC Related Papers, Jan–Mar 1974. Secret; Eyes Only; Official–Informal. In an attached note to “Bob” (probably Ingersoll), Hummel refered to this letter as an attempt to start “a normal dialogue with that abnormal post.”

72. Telegram From the Liaison Office in China to the Department of State

Beijing, February 19, 1974, 0345Z.

Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy Files. Secret; Priority; Exdis.

73. Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Secretary Affairs (Kissinger) to President Nixon

Washington, March 11, 1974.

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–245, National Security Decision Memoranda, NSDM 248. Top Secret; Sensitive. Sent for action. Kennedy, Smyser, and Solomon sent this memorandum to Kissinger on March 7, with the recommendation that he sign and send it to the President. (Ibid.) A stamped notation at the top of the page indicates the President did see it.

74. National Security Decision Memorandum 248

Washington, March 14, 1974.

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–245, National Security Decision Memoranda, NSDM 248. Top Secret; Sensitive. A copy was sent to the Chairman of the JCS.

75. Memorandum of Conversation

Washington, March 20, 1974, 4:05–4:25 p.m.

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Kissinger Office Files, Box 96, Country Files, Far East, China Exchanges, January 1, 1973–March 31, 1974. Top Secret; Nodis. This meeting was held in the Secretary’s office.

76. Memorandum of Conversation

Washington, April 12, 1974, 2:30 p.m.

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 524, Country Files, Far East, China, Vol. XII, Oct 25, 1973–. Secret; Sensitive. The meeting took place in the White House. According to an attached April 19 memorandum by Froebe, Scowcroft approved this memorandum of conversation.

77. Memorandum From Richard H. Solomon of the National Security Council Staff to Secretary of State Kissinger

Washington, April 12, 1974.

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Kissinger Office Files, Box 96, Country Files, Far East, China Exchanges, April 1–August 8, 1974. Top Secret; Sensitive. Sent for action.

78. Memorandum of Conversation

New York City, April 14, 1974, 8:05–11:00 p.m.

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Kissinger Office Files, Box 96, Country Files, Far East, China Exchanges, April 1–August 8, 1974. Top Secret; Sensitive; Exclusively Eyes Only. The meeting took place at the Secretary’s suite at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. On April 12, Kissinger received a memorandum from Solomon discussing the political background of Deng Xiaoping’s trip. Solomon suggested that his trip was part of a campaign to make China the leader of the “have not” nations. In addition, Deng was “to take the temperature of the Sino-U.S. relationship while in New York.” (Ibid.) The same day, Lord and Hummel also sent Kissinger a memorandum in anticipation of his meeting with Deng. (Ibid.) All brackets are in the original.

79. Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) to President Nixon

Washington, April 24, 1974.

Source: Ford Library, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–53, NSDM 261, Nuclear Sales to the PRC. Secret. Sent for action. A stamped notation on the memorandum indicates Nixon saw it. According to an attached, undated draft of this memorandum, Scowcroft and McFarlane revised it on March 26. McFarlane further revised the recommendation section on April 24. Solomon and David Elliot sent this memorandum to Kissinger under a March 22 covering memorandum summarizing it.

80. Telegram From the Liaison Office in China to the Department of State

Beijing, May 24, 1974, 0435Z.

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Kissinger Office Files, Box 96, Country Files, Far East, China Exchanges, April 1–August 8, 1974. Secret; Immediate; Nodis.

81. Memorandum of Conversation

Washington, June 24, 1974, 8:10–9:15 p.m.

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Kissinger Office Files, Box 96, Country Files, Far East, China Exchanges, April 1–August 8, 1974. Secret; Sensitive. The meeting took place in the Secretary’s office at the Department of State. All brackets are in the original. In a June 24 memorandum, Lord informed Kissinger, “I genuinely believe that a failure to touch base with the Chinese before you leave for Moscow could cause very serious damage to our relations with Peking.” Kissinger acceded to Lord’s request and agreed to this meeting with Huang. (Ibid.)

82. Memorandum of Conversation

Washington, July 15, 1974, 11:45 a.m.–12:20 p.m.

Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Kissinger Office Files, Box 96, Country Files, Far East, China Exchanges, April 1–August 8, 1974. Secret; Sensitive. The meeting was held in the Secretary’s office at the Department of State. All brackets are in the original. On July 9, Lord prepared briefing materials for this meeting. (Ibid.)

83. National Security Decision Memorandum 261

Washington, July 22, 1974.

Source: Ford Library, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–53, NSDM 261, Nuclear Sales to the PRC. Secret. Copies were sent to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and to the Counsellor to the President for Economic Policy. Nixon approved this NSDM on May 1; see footnote 3, Document 79.

84. Paper Prepared in the Central Intelligence Agency

Washington, July 1974.

Source: Central Intelligence Agency, OPI 10, Job 80–M01048A, Box 2, Communist China, 280174–151174. Secret. A note on the first page of the paper indicates that it was prepared from contributions by the Office of Political Research, the Office of Economic Research, the Office of Strategic Research, and the Central Reference Service of the Directorate of Intelligence, and by the Office of Weapons Intelligence and the Office of Scientific Intelligence of the Directorate of Science and Technology. The Office of Current Intelligence of the Directorate of Intelligence, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and the Bureau of Intelligence and Research of the Department of State were consulted.

86. Memorandum of Conversation

Washington, September 25, 1974, 2:50–3:20 p.m.

Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, Presidential Country Files, East Asia, Box 13, PRC (1), 8/9/74–9/30/74. Top Secret; Sensitive. The meeting took place in the White House. All brackets are in the original. Scowcroft’s talking points for this meeting are ibid.

87. Memorandum of Conversation

New York City, October 2, 1974, 8:15–11:35 p.m.

Source: Ford Library, Kissinger-Scowcroft West Wing Office Files, 1974–1977, China Exchanges, Box 4, unnumbered (4). Top Secret; Sensitive; Exclusively Eyes Only. The meeting took place in the Secretary’s suite at the Waldorf Towers. All brackets are in the original. Hummel, Lord, and Solomon sent Kissinger a briefing memorandum for this meeting on September 27. (Ibid.)